Faith Nyasuguta
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has officially kicked off her campaign for re-election under the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) banner, unveiling an ambitious agenda that includes the revival of a long-delayed constitutional reform process.
The campaign launch in the Kawe suburb of Dar es Salaam was a spectacle of party strength – schools closed, traffic rerouted, and participants draped in CCM’s signature yellow and green flocked to a stadium-sized rally ground in the early morning hours. With momentum clearly on her side, Samia and her running mate Emmanuel Nchimbi introduced CCM’s slate of parliamentary candidates and began laying out their vision.
Acknowledging that the ruling party hadn’t fulfilled every pledge from its 2020 manifesto, the President nonetheless asserted that significant progress had been made. She pledged to keep Tanzania on a “progressive development path,” steering the nation toward “peaceful times of the past.”
One of the most critical campaign promises is to kickstart the stalled process of drafting a new national constitution. Within the first 100 days of a second term, she vows to establish a reconciliation commission tasked with shepherding the children’s rebirth – the new Katiba – into full swing. This commitment signals renewed political reforms, echoing pledges made in her “4Rs” framework – Reconciliation, Resilience, Reforms, and Rebuilding.
Beyond constitutional reform, Samia promises wide-ranging economic development. She highlighted sectors like mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism as priorities. Social goals include subsidized or free health services and education, tighter integration of informal sectors like small traders into the formal economy, and financial support – specifically TZS 200 billion (approx. US$80 million) in seed capital – for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.
Other major infrastructure commitments feature completing the cross-border standard gauge railway (SGR) linking to Burundi and DRC, modernizing the Tazara railway under a US$1.4 billion public-private partnership, and expanding the Tanga and Kigoma ports to boost cargo volume.
On social services, Samia outlined plans for rolling out Tanzania’s much-hailed Universal Health Insurance (UHI) pilot scheme, initially covering elderly people, children, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities. The government will also fully cover the cost of specialist treatments for non-communicable diseases like cancer, kidney, and heart ailments at public referral hospitals. She also vowed to outlaw the morbid practice of mortuaries withholding bodies until bills are paid, and committed to finding supportive solutions for affected families.
In a departure from past secrecy, Samia vowed to lift restrictions on media freedom and enhance government transparency. Cabinet members and public servants will be expected to engage directly with citizens via digital channels and SMS, answering public queries – a new metric for evaluating ministerial performance.
She invoked CCM’s legacy of unity and progress – appealing to voters in the name of “solidarity, trust, and reliability” – and asked Tanzanians to back her for another term of decisive, people-centered governance.
The campaign launch took place against a backdrop of a sidelined opposition. The main opposition party CHADEMA has been disqualified, and its leader Tundu Lissu is facing treason charges. The ACT-Wazalendo party’s candidate was also barred from the race. These developments have deepened concerns over democratic integrity as Tanzania heads into elections on October 29.
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